Biography

Jim Asperger is a leading national trial attorney and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has been repeatedly recognized in Chambers USA - America’s Leading Business Lawyers as a leading lawyer in the field of White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations; The Best Lawyers in America, for “Bet-the-Company and Commercial Litigation”; The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers; as a Southern California “Super Lawyer” in the field of business litigation, and as a Top Trial Lawyer in Los Angeles by the LA Business Journal. Chambers USA ranks Jim in Band One for White Collar Crime & Government Investigations and praises him as having an "incredible grasp of the law, is very intelligent and a very good manager – he keeps everyone organized." Jim has also been named by The Daily Journal as among the “Top 100 Attorneys” in California, and by InterContinental Finance Magazineas one of the top 500 lawyers in the world.

Jim is Co-Chair of the Firm’s White Collar and Corporate Investigations Practice, and has tried over thirty cases to verdict, including securities fraud actions, patent claims, and a wide range of other business disputes. He has extensive experience representing publicly traded companies, audit committees, independent directors, and corporate officers in federal grand jury, SEC and other governmental investigations. He is an expert in international business crime issues, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, antitrust law, and international financial transactions. For example, he served as a DOJ appointed monitor of Schnitzer Steel in examining its worldwide anticorruption policies; he represented the International Olympic Committee in the DOJ investigation relating to 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics alleged bribery scandal; he defended a major international airline in connection with DOJ criminal allegations of price fixing, and he has represented senior officers in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act investigations.

Notable Representations

AIG v. Bank of America, Countrywide and Merrill LynchJim represented AIG in its successful lawsuit against Bank of America, Countrywide and Merrill Lynch for their alleged roles in perpetrating a massive fraud in marketing mortgage backed securities, resulting in a nine figure settlement for AIG.

Former General Counsel of Broadcom CorporationJim obtained the complete vindication of the former general counsel of Broadcom in a Department of Justice investigation and Securities & Exchange Commission lawsuit involving the largest restatement in the country for alleged stock options backdating.

U.S. v. Tenet Healthsystem Hospitals, Inc., et al.Lead trial counsel for Alvarado Hospital Medical Center, Inc. in an eleven-month jury trial in which the Hospital, Tenet and a former CEO of the Hospital were accused of conspiracy and violations of the federal healthcare anti-kickback statute. Following trial, the judge dismissed all criminal charges.

Former Chairman and CEO of Publicly Traded Pharmaceutical CompanyLead counsel for the former Chairman and CEO of a publicly traded pharmaceutical company in securities litigation and governmental investigations arising from public disclosures about scientific disputes with the Food and Drug Administration over a New Drug Application. These matters included scientific and expert issues relating to the efficacy of the drug, as well as sensitive media relations issues.

Former CEO of Federally Insured Financial InstitutionJim represented the former CEO of a large federally insured financial institution in a federal criminal and enforcement investigation into alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Bank Secrecy and Patriot Acts, and money laundering statutes relating to international financing transactions. Ultimately, Jim's work led to convincing the Department of Justice and enforcement authorities that no governmental action was appropriate.

Henry Huang v. Caltech, Applied Biosystems, et al.Lead trial counsel for the California Institute of Technology, for whom the DNA sequencer patents represent an important source of funds and prestigious accomplishment. At issue in the case was the inventorship of Caltech’s patents for the DNA sequencer, which was used to decode the human genome and represents one of the most significant scientific inventions of the 20th century. The trial included the presentation through lay and expert testimony of technical scientific issues related to the development and function of the sequencer. At the conclusion of the trial, U.S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer ruled for Caltech on all claims.

Nuance Communications, Inc.Lead trial counsel for Nuance, the world’s leading provider of voice technology solutions, in an arbitration against a competitor to terminate its software license agreement for revealing confidential information to one of Nuance’s competitors.

Director of Hazardous Waste at Rockwell’s Rocketdyne DivisionLead trial counsel for the former Director of Hazardous Waste at Rockwell’s Rocketdyne Division in a criminal environmental prosecution brought by the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. The case involved environmental, scientific, expert testimony, and media issues arising from the death of two scientists in an explosion from hazardous waste disposal that formed part of the basis for the charges. A very favorable result was obtained on the eve of trial.

International Olympic Committee Represented the IOC in the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Bribery scandal. The case received daily worldwide media coverage and was the subject of congressional inquiry and hearings.

Environmental Actions Against Oil CompanyLead counsel in representing major oil company in numerous high-stakes environmental actions in California. He was brought in as lead trial counsel in an action filed by the Orange County District Attorney and in hotly contested litigation achieved a favorable result for the client on the eve of trial. He led multiple other actions and investigations against the California Attorney General’s Office, the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, and more than a dozen district attorney, city attorney, and county counsel offices in California.

Hazardous Waste/Materials Investigations of Fortune 100 CompanyJim spearheaded the defense of a Fortune 100 company in connection with a statewide investigation conducted by the former and current California Attorney General and several District Attorneys’ offices into the company’s statewide hazardous waste and materials practices. The case raised complex issues of first impression involving the application of these laws to retail facilities, with the government claiming the right to seek billions of dollars of multi-day penalties for hundreds of stores throughout California. In late 2007, he negotiated a favorable settlement for the client following an extensive two-and-a-half-year investigation and lengthy negotiations.

Clean Water ActRepresented large utility and energy company in federal criminal investigation into alleged violations of the Clean Water Act.

City of LancasterRepresented City of Lancaster in federal grand jury investigation into multiple alleged environmental violations of RCRA, hazardous waste and storage laws, and Clean Water Act.

Starwood v. HiltonLead counsel for former officers and employees in federal grand jury investigation for alleged theft of trade secrets and in related civil litigation. Jim's efforts convinced the government to decline criminal prosecution.

Former Santa Ana City CouncilmanLead trial counsel for a former Santa Ana City Councilman in an important criminal public corruption case brought by the Orange County United States Attorney’s Office. Jim reached an extremely favorable result in which his client received probation on the eve of trial.

American Broadcasting CorporationLead trial counsel for American Broadcasting Corporation in a high-stakes personal injury case brought by a news reporter who was seriously injured in an accident while she was reporting in an electronic news gathering vehicle. Issues included allegations of negligence, products liability, and other claims. A favorable settlement was reached on the eve of trial.

Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc.As part of its deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Justice Department, Schnitzer was required to retain a Compliance Consultant to evaluate its compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Jim was specially recommended by the Department of Justice and selected by Schnitzer to assume the position. He conducted a top-to-bottom review of Schnitzer’s anticorruption compliance programs for its worldwide operations and prepared annual reports for DOJ and theSEC on these issues.

Health Care Fraud and AbuseRepresented hospitals, doctors, and publicly traded companies in a wide variety of governmental investigations into alleged violations of the health care fraud and abuse laws, including the federal anti-kickback statute.

Trial of Barry Minkow, whiz kid founder, Chairman and CEO of ZZZZ Best Co., Inc.Jim prevailed in the four-month criminal jury trial of Barry Minkow. This case received extensive media attention, was the subject of congressional hearings, and was one of the largest securities fraud/money laundering cases tried on the West Coast in the 1980s.

Trial of Orange County Businessman of the Year Michael ParkerThis month-long jury trial involved substantial media attention and, after the trial, the district court judge complimented Jim for his outstanding trial work.

OtherJim has also represented a number of other Fortune 500 corporations, executive officers, directors, and other entities and institutions in highly sensitive and important litigation, governmental investigations, and internal investigations involving a wide range of matters, including public company reporting obligations, accounting issues, Patriot and Bank Secrecy Act issues, product performance and efficacy, scientific experts, money laundering, as well as sensitive media and congressional issues.